


Conversations and Understandings

by Charged_To_Be_Free_Archives



Series: Predaking's New Groove [3]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Fluff, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Predaking had bad experiences from the past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:36:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27667586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charged_To_Be_Free_Archives/pseuds/Charged_To_Be_Free_Archives
Summary: Takes place during 'This Means War!'Predacons learn that the Autobots are on their territory. They investigate and discover a certain wounded bot in need of help. Predaking  taker care of them while Darksteel, Skylynx and Firestar have another task about which their leader is extremely worried about.
Series: Predaking's New Groove [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009215
Comments: 11
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

It was such a beautiful day on newly restored Cybertron. The sun was shining, the metal forests were blooming, and everyone in the Darkmount was onlining back to life.

Predaking walked out of his room and stretched, heading to the storage to get his morning Energon and begin a new day. On his way he met Darksteel who lazily stumbled in his beast form through the hallway.

"Good morning." Predaking slowed down and greeted him. When the younger Predacon realised that someone was speaking to him, he jumped in surprise and turned around. After a second he transformed and let out a big yawn as he started walking with Predaking.

"Hi..." He mumbled, rubbing his optics.

"Still not a morning person?"

"Nope." Darksteel let out a little huff, grinning. "Why are we having breakfast this early again?"

"Because, my dear Darksteel." Predaking folded one arm behind his back, looked up and pointed his claw up in a lecturing manner.

"Several studies prove that the best time for our bodies to adjust energy we're consuming is at a certain schedule. This schedule includes hours as early as this exact one. It's very beneficial, and as we all know, healthy Predacon is a happy Predacon."

Darksteel snorted, letting out a laugh. Predaking gave him a side eye.

"King." Darksteel put his claw on his shoulder. "You are my brother and leader and I love you very dearly. But you are possibly the biggest dork I've ever known. That's saying a lot, I grew up with Skylynx."

"I just want to make sure all of you will be properly energised for all day ahead of you. It may seem irritating at first, but sometimes the smallest things like that can do the trick. I'm sure one day you'll get it."

After some time they heard another voices nearby. They turned around the corner and noticed Skylynx with Firestar. He was leaning down and typing something on a datapad she was holding.

"And how does a dog sounds?"

"It sounds something like this." Skylynx tapped the screen, activating loud barking sound. Firestar smiled brightly.

"What about a cat? Or a fish? Or a cow? Do they make noises too?"

"Yes, as far as I'm aware they do. Let's try everything one at the time-"

"Sup, nerds!" Without any warning, Darksteel ran to his brother and grabbed him by the shoulder, making him let out a startled bull noise.

"Darksteel!" Skylynx shrieked, pushing him back. "How many times have I told you not to startle me like that when I'm talking to someone?!"

"Relax, I didn't mean to scare you." Darksteel said, rising his hands in defence.

"But you did anyway." Predaking joined, crossing his arms. "And your brother clearly doesn't like it. I trust that you know what to do in this situation."

"I know..." Darksteel sighed, offering his brother a hand. "I'm sorry."

Skylynx gave him a sceptical look, but accepted it anyway.

"King!" Firestar ran to Predaking and hugged his arm, looking up with big starry optics. "You were on Earth, right?"

"Well, yes." Predaking shrugged. "That is correct."

"You must've seen Earth animals at least once. Are they really so small they can fit in your palm or make all those funny noises?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm afraid I didn't pay attention at the time. I was... you know, busy."

"Oh. That's okay! Hey, maybe we can visit Earth some time?"

"I’ll uh... I’ll consider that. But for now, let's focus on our current needs, alright?"

"Aww..." Firestar couldn't help but pout, making Predaking smile and soften his gaze.

"Hey, Starlight." Darksteel grinned, leaning closer to her. "How about a race to the Energon storage? I bet I can beat you this time."

Firestar's expression immediately brightened up. She let go of Predaking and gave her brother a determined look.

"Bring it!"

Darksteel chuckled as they took starting positions.

"Hey, you two!" He called Skylynx and Predaking. "Wanna join us?"

"No, thank you." Skylynx said as he started walking away. Predaking thought for a moment and then chuckled.

"It's a challenge, so I suppose I have to defend my honour." He took a starting position himself, getting ready for the race.

"Alright, on three. One..." Darksteel counted. "Two..."

Suddenly, a loud alarm sounded through the entire Darkmount. Skylynx froze and the three Predacons were forced to cancel their race.

"What is that?" Asked worried Firestar.

"Skylynx." Predaking ordered. Skylynx nodded and quickly rushed to the controlling centre, opening the computer. Predaking, Firestar and Darksteel arrived after him.

"We have a couple of intruders near the west border!" Skylynx explained. "It's... oh no..."

"What?" Predaking asked.

"The Autobots."

"Of course." Predaking snarled and shook his head. Then he turned around and said:

"Darksteel, take medical kit. We might need it. Skylynx, life signal scanner. Firestar, get Energon. We are getting our morning fuel and no Autobot shall prevent us from doing it. Period."

"Got it." The three Predacons nodded, heading into three opposite directions.

There went the beautiful day, Predaking thought and headed to the landing pad.


	2. Chapter 2

The group of Predacons landed near the west border of their land and transformed. Skylynx pulled out two old looking scanners which showed areas where the life signals were coming from. On it's screen appeared two signals, they were on two completely opposite sides from one another.

"The search for intruders will be faster if we split." Predaking said. "Skylynx and Darksteel, you head to the Crystal Forest. Firestar, you're going with me. If you'll see any intruders-"

"Uh, King?" Firestar suddenly interruped, rising her hand. Predaking glanced at her, giving her his attention. "Can I go with Darksteel this time?"

He couldn't help, but raise an optical ridge at her. Darksteel smiled widely and kneeled, wrapping his arm around her.

"Yeah, that'd be great! The forest is beautiful at this hour, I'm sure she'll love it!"

"We are not here for entertainment purposes." Predaking reminded. "This is a serious investigation and we have no time for exploring."

"Hey, I know this. Job first, fun last. I just think that me and Firestar would make a good scouting team, isn't that right?"

"We would! Please, King. I really want to search the forest with Darksteel."

Darksteel and Firestar pouted, giving their leader giant puppy optics. Predaking squinted at them, but after some time he let out a sigh and gave in.

"Fine, you two can go together." He said, rising his claw in a commanding manner. 

"Yay!" The two Predacons cheered.

"Under one condition." He continued with a serious frown. "Darksteel, it is important that you'll watch your sister at all times. No splitting within the group and no engaging with the enemy. If you two see any Autobot, any at all, you comn us immediately. Do you understand?"

"Yeah." Darksteel agreed.

"Yes!" Firestar nodded.

"In that case, you may go." Predaking said and waved dismissively at them. Darksteel transformed into his beast form and let his sister climb on his back. Skylynx gave her one of the scanners and they took off towards the Crystal Forest, childishly giggling to each other.

"I hope this change of company is not troubling to you, Skylynx." Predaking said, turning to his remaining party member.

"Troubling?" Skylynx chuckled, adjusting his glasses and holding up his scanner. "I say it's an improvement! And while we're searching, I can tell you a little bit of my latest discovery involving the new Sea of Rust I stumbled upon a few days ago." 

He started moving towards the device's lead and began talking. Predaking found some strenght to smile and followed him.

\-----

"And then we have it's bottom. Did you know that despite it's surroundings, it stays completely clean?" Skylynx and Predaking were walking for some time now. The Autobots were still not found and the more they were searching for them, the more worried Predaking was growing.

"It's surface is made of magnetic shields and they can be used as... Are you listening?" 

Skylynx's question brought him back to reality. Predaking looked up and glanced at the younger Predacon.

"My apologies. I didn't mean to appear like I was ignoring you, I'm just... thoughtful." 

"About what?"

"About... things. Don't worry, I'm listening."

"Is everything alright? I haven't seen you this nervous since... well, before, actually. I haven't seen you this nervous before."

"I'm not nervous, I'm just... a little worried. It's truly nothing."

They jumped off a rock and entered their mining grounds. Skylynx glanced at the scanner.

"Useless junk...!" He hissed, hitting it's side and shaking it. "It mixes life signals with Energon readings. I can't tell the precise location of the Autobots, but they should be somewhere around this sector. Or maybe another?... Somewhere around these caves."

"I knew it..." Predaking scowled, clenching his fist. "They are here to take our rations!" 

Skylynx hummed and scanned the nearest Energon cave. He ran quick calculations and turned back to his leader.

"Not an Energon crystal left it's position."

"In that case we're just in time to prevent them from starting."

"Why would they even need our Energon? They have their own mines, don't they?"

"They're driven by greed, obviously. Or they're trying to hide something on our land, o-or perhaps it's a part of some sort of plan of attack! Whatever it is, we should keep our guard up."

Skylynx sensed a sudden stutter in Predaking's voice. He was no expert, but he could tell when someone was starting to panic. He was going to ask about it, but suddenly he spotted something in the distance.

"King, look!" He pointed forward. His brother turned around and noticed it himself. The two of them walked to the spot and found a bit of fresh Energon on the ground. Predaking scanned it and confirmed that it was not from around.

"Bingo?" Skylynx asked.

"Bingo." Predaking replied, transforming into his beast form and chasing after the scent. "Follow me!"

Skylynx squinted at the scanner with passionate hate and chased after him.

Predaking stopped at a big pile of rocks and moved them with his massive head in order to peek inside it. 

"Okay, briefly returning to our conversation." Skylynx tried to help him, removing some of the rocks himself. "Are you sure everything's alright?"

"Of course." Predaking agreed, moving from one pile to another. He was so fast Skylynx could barely keep up. "Why wouldn't I be alright?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. I get that we shouldn't underestimate our enemy, but aren't we exaggerating a little bit right now? As far as we know this might be just some lost youngling wandering around and not doing anyone any harm."

Predaking looked inside another cave and backed off as soon as he didn't sense the hunted Autobot from it.

"I mean, we pass their territory sometimes too and not cause any serious damage, right? Besides, even in the worst case scenario, we can defeat them with ease."

Predaking let out a soft growl, but it wasn't aimed at Skylynx. He jumped and moved towards another sector, his brother rushed after him.

"What I'm trying to ask is, do we really need to fear them so much and avoid them at all costs? Are we one hundred percent sure that they're really **that** dangerous?"

Suddenly Predaking stopped, making Skylynx stop as well. Then, he turned around and looked him straight in the optics. 

**"Yes."** He said in a nearly shouting tone. Skylynx widened his optics in surprise if nothing else. After a second Predaking realised what he did and immediately backed off. 

"I'm sorry. What I meant was, the Autobots can't be trusted."

"I thought the Decepticons couldn't be trusted."

"Decepticons, Autobots, they're all the same." He turned around and started walking forward.

"They're scared of us, that's why they're willing to hurt us. And the more desperate they are..." Predaking looked down, sighing. "The more damage they are willing to cause."

Skylynx's expression saddened. If he wasn't worried before, he was definetly at least a bit concerned now. The older Predacon shook his head, turning back to him.

"The signature is getting stronger. Let's talk about this after this is over, alright?"

Skylynx nodded and they started moving again. After some time they stopped near one of the biggest Energon mines on their land. Predaking transformed back and looked around.

"They should be here."

"Great!" Skylynx cheered, rising the scanner. "I guess we didn't need this Decepticon scrap after all. Figures."

Suddenly, Predaking noticed something in the distance that made his optics go wide. Skylynx shrugged.

"Oh well, at least it's working somehow. I'll see if I can give it an upgrade after this is over."

"Skylynx."

"Don't worry, this time it won't have more than four, maybe five functions. I'll make a few notes from this mission and see what else would be useful for us in the future if we didn't happen to have your excellent hunting skills. I'll definetly add more precise tracking function, so we can see exacly where the target i..."

When he glanced inside of the cave, he saw a small blue Autobot staring at him with disbelieving look.

"... Oh."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like useless Decepticon junk and awkward meetings, please consider leaving Kudos and Comments under my work.


	3. Chapter 3

"I-I mean..." Without any warning, Skylynx chucked his scanner on the ground and threw his claws up in the air.

 **"Raaaagh!"** He roared, waddling around like an angry bear and aggressively flapping his wings. Predaking had to take a step back while the Autobot looked at the spectacle with a grimance.

"I'm a Predacon!" He shouted. "Fear me or I'll eat you! Raaagh!"

After a second he stepped closer, leaning to her face so close their foreheads almost touched and repeated his roar, which this time died down rather quickly.

"... Did you buy it?" He murmured. The Autobot only shook her head. Skylynx jumped back and covered his faceplates in embarrasment. 

"I'm so sorry!" He mumbled under his claws. "I haven't done this in a long time!..."

Predaking patted him on the shoulder.

"It's alright, your effort is appreciated. That roar was great."

"I must be hallucinating." The Autobot said aloud.

"Y-yeah, that's it!" Skylynx smiled nervously, pointing at her. "You're not really seeing this! This is just a vision and in the normal reality I'm still in the process of developing!"

"Skylynx, I doubt this can be taken back." Predaking said. Skylynx let out an embarrased groan and took off his glasses. That was his usual reaction when things were escalating for him.

Predaking decided to step closer to the Autobot. She moved back and rose her guard when he kneeled before her.

"What are you doing here, Autobot?" He asked in a rather harsh tone. He could tell that she didn't like it.

"The name's Arcee." She said, frowning deeply. "And I'm just..."

The Autobot suddenly paused, widening her optics. She blandly stared at the distance for some time, struggling with something.

"I..." Arcee grabbed her head, focusing on her memory files. To her surprise, they were completely empty. "I don't remember."

"Great..." Predaking whispered, closing his optics and surprassing an annoyed growl.

"All I recall is that I was in Iacon this morning doing my usual things. Nothing beyond that." She looked around and saw the Energon mines around her. However, the surroundings didn't seem like the ones near Iacon. "Where even am I?"

"You're on the Predacon territory." Skylynx answered. 

**"What?!"** Arcee shouted, completely blaffled. She tried to stand up, but unfortunately the memory loss wasn't the worst thing that had happened to her that day. 

When she placed her hand on her knee, it felt completely numb. After a second she started wobbling and soon she fell forward right on Predaking who instinctively catched her before she hit the ground.

"What are you doing?" 

"I... I can't move. I can't feel my legs!" She said, looking up at him. "What have you done to me?!"

"What have **we** done?!" Predaking let go off her and she fell back on the pile of rocks. 

"I'm afraid and relieved that this wasn't us." Skylynx said, pulling out his medical kit. "Now, if I may?" He glanced at Predaking, gesturing at the metal case. His leader let out a small puff of smoke, turning around and crossing his arms. 

"Just be careful."

Skylynx nodded, placing the kit on the ground and trying reaching Arcee's leg.

When she realised what he intended to do, she quickly grabbed her legs, pulling them closer to herself.

"What are you doing?" She asked, glaring at him.

"I want to see if there's something I can do to help you." He explained, shrugging. Arcee didn't look too convinced.

"And why should I trust you?"

"Well, first of all I would argue that we haven't done anything to you yet. That's a pretty strong argument, if you ask me. I doubt you'd rather have us straight up attacking you for no reason."

Arcee wasn't sure about this. On one hand, she didn't trust the Predacons. On the other, they had yet to get aggresive with her. She glanced at the young Predacon and then down at her paralysed legs. After a second she let out a sigh and loosened up a bit.

"If you try anything, I'm going to kick you. Hard." She threatened.

"Of course." Skylynx said, scanning her frame. He pulled out a few tools from the medical kit and started treating her while she watched. Predaking did not interfere.

"... So." Arcee started after some time. "How long have you been...?"

"How long have I been what?" Skylynx asked, not looking away from her injuries. 

"You know... When did you... start wearing glasses?"

"Oh, this?" He smiled, pointing at his glasses. "I've had them for some time now, I'm very glad you noticed. I heard that they make you look more sophisticated."

"Uh huh... Is the other one also wearing them?"

"Who? Darksteel?" Skylynx let out an amused snort. "No. There's no hope for him, I'm afraid."

He looked at Arcee's frame one more time and pulled out some stiches. She was starting to get worried, but let him do his work while observing Predaking who was facing the opposite direction.

"Have you been in a fight?" Skylynx suddenly asked. 

"Not in the one I can remember." Arcee was fully worried now. "Why?"

"Well, this might be a bit hard to explain, but... Except your paralysed legs, your plating is bruised and detened, your scent is all over the place so you must've been pretty active. Not to even mention your bleeding side."

"My what?" Arcee blinked, looking at her side. She saw three cuts on her right hip. Thankfully, they weren't deep and didn't look life threatening. 

"Some creatures move from forest to our mining grounds from time to time." He explained. "You may have stumbled upon one during your... whatever you were doing here in the first place."

Arcee slightly narrowed her optics, thinking of something, but not saying it out loud.

"Anyway, I've done all I could do." Skylynx said. "I think it would be good if a real medic took care of you from here. Do you have a contact with one?"

"I should." She said, opening her comn link. After some time, someone picked up.

"Hey, Ratchet. It's Arcee. Oh, the mission?" Arcee greeted, optics focusing on her injury. Predaking slightly turned his head back, glancing at her. "Yeah, the mission is going great. Listen, I... have a bit of a strange request. Do you remember what I was supposed to be doing today? I want to make sure if I got everything done without missing something. I would really appreciate that. Mhm. Mhm. Oh... Oh! See, I knew I was missing something. Yeah, I remember now. Thanks. Don't worry, everything's fine. Okay, I gotta go. I'll report to you later."

She said and hanged up. Skylynx couldn't help, but feel confused. 

"You didn't tell him about your injury."

Without any warning, Arcee threw a strong punch in his faceplates with a battle cry. Skylynx cried out of pain, alarming Predaking. Arcee's hands transformed into two blasters which she aimed at the Predacon. Predaking stepped in just in time, allowing his younger brother to escape her aim.

"He offers you help and you attack him?!" He snarled. "Have you no shame?!"

"Do you think I'm stupid?! That I wouldn't see that you kidnapped me?!" Arcee snarled back.

"Kidnapped you?!" Predaking grunted his denta.

"I was leading an investigation on a completely different side of Cybertron with my partner! We didn't come anywhere near your land!"

"And we didn't come anywhere yours!" With Predaking's claim, Skylynx couldn't help, but worriedly look away. 

"Then what am I doing here?!"

"How should we know?!"

"It's your territory!"

"So what?! I'm supposed to know everything what's happening on it right away?!"

"Yes!"

They leaned closer and started dangerously glaring at each other. Arcee's blasters started charging and for a second Predaking considered pulling out his own. But he knew that if he killed her right away, it would have dire consequences in the future.

After some time, Predaking growled at her and then turned away. Arcee would be lying if she said she wasn't surprised, but glad at the same timw. Her weapons transformed back, but were ready to be pulled out again at any time.

"Are you alright?" Predaking walked to his brother to see if he was injured. His expression immediately softened. 

"I was mostly startled." Skylynx said, taking his claw out of his face. "I doubt it'll leave any mark."

"This is exacly what I meant when I said the Autobots couldn't be trusted. I hope you understand that now."

Skylynx looked down. Predaking placed his hand on his shoulder. 

"I'm sorry you had to learn this way, brother. But now you may understand better why I'm trying to protect you from them. Can you promise that you'll be more careful from now on?"

"... Yes."

Predaking gave him a nod. Then, he turned around to Arcee and scowled. 

"You will call your medic again." He commanded. "You will tell him about your condition and leave this place as soon as possible. This will be your first and last warning, you won't see us as merciful as today again. Do you understand?"

"Not like I'd want to visit again." Arcee frowned. Suddenly, she remembered something that made her optics widen. "Wait, my partner!... Is he...?"

Predaking remembered that there were indeed two signals. The one chased by Darksteel and Firestar must've been her partner.

"He is." He confirmed. "Currently he's being looked for by our second party. It will be much easier if you'd describe who he is so they can know who to expect."

Arcee glared at him, but decided to tone it down a bit. A bit.

"I swear, if you'll hurt him..."

"And I swear if he hurts us. Who is he?"

"It's Ultra Magnus."

Hearing that cursed name again after so long made Predaking freeze in horror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like sophisticated glasses and insense staring contests, please consider leaving Kudos and Comments under my work.


	4. Chapter 4

The Crystal Forest was a huge place covered in all kinds of Cybertron's wild life. After restoring the planet it just appeared out of nowhere and kept growing with each day. The Predacons were the first to name it. While it was not an official name, they liked calling it the Crystal Forest. It perfectly described how sunshine reflected on the surface of metal trees, creating a sparkling illusion of the place.

There was a strange sound echoing through the woods. Two certain Predacons were humming as they walked, snapping their digits and stomping to the rythm they were creating.

"Sixty three shiny metal rocks on the wall, sixty three shing rocks on the wall-~" Darksteel sang, gesturing at Firestar.

"Take one down, carry around, sixty two shiny metal rocks on the wall!~" She continued. Soon they started singing together, not even realising that a big shadow was following their steps.

\-----

"Skylynx." Predaking put his servos on Skylynx's shoulders, looking him dead serious in the eyes. "Go to the Crystal Forest and find Darksteel and Firestar as soon as possible. I will stay there and make sure that this Autobot won't escape."

"What?" Skylynx couldn't help, but ask. "I thought the plan was different."

"That plan has changed due to unexpected complications. Now your mission is to find the other group and make sure they're alright, then let me know immediately. This is your new priority. Understood?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Good, now go!"

Despite this rather rude interruption, Skylynx obeyed. Predaking took a few steps back as he transformed and flew away in search for the rest of Predacons, leaving Predaking with paralysed Arcee behind.

"Of all Autobots that could've accompanied you." He barked, sitting next to her. Arcee couldn't help but move away from him, dragging her legs behind her.

"So what?" She asked. "You're just going to sit here until Magnus is found?"

"Someone has to." He replied, looking away. "Because I'm not letting you hurt Skylynx ever again."

"... Alright then." Arcee looked away herself. This was propably one of the weirdest and most confusing days she had experienced in a long while.

\-----

Skylynx landed in the forest and transformed back, looking around.

"Darksteel?" He called out his brother's name, moving forward and studying his surroundings. It hadn't been a long while and he already noticed a pair of footsteps on the ground. One of them were smaller than the others, and the bigger ones had clawmarks on their fronts.

"Typical." Skylynx thought out loud. Suddenly his comn link activated and he gasped in surprise. After a second he picked it up.

;Have you found them yet?; A voice asked. It was Predaking. Judging by the sound he was anxious, but tried to mask it with his calm tone.

"No, I just arrived at my destination." Skylynx replied, glancing at the footsteps. "But good news, I found their trail. It's kind of bad news as well if you'll think about it, but I'm not complaining at the moment."

;There will be time for discussions about basic hiding techinques. Report as soon as you'll find them.; 

"I will."

As he hanged up, he couldn't help but start worrying about Rodimus. He had a hard time believing that it was just a coincidence that the Autobots were found on their territory a day after she had left. Oh, if he had only stopped her. At the time he didn't think about such tragic consequences of her game. He hoped she was alright and they didn't discover her.

Another sudden comn link call forced him back to reality. He had no choice but to pick it up.

"Hello?"

;It's me again.; Predaking comned him for the second time. ;I just wanted to say that if you'll end up losing their trail, you can search for clues in your other form. Sometimes it's harder to do it as a bipedal.; .

"...Yes, I... I know this, King." Skylynx stated, blinking. "But thank you for the advice. I'll make sure to do that."

;Good. And remember to stay alarmed out there. The enemy might be lurking somewhere nearby as we speak. If you needed any help, comn me.; 

"Alright. Can I proceed now?"

;Surely;

Skylynx hanged up and let out a tired sigh. Suddenly he heard a noise coming from within the woods that made him freeze in fear. After a second he shook his head and started searching for the other Predacons, nervously glancing around from time to time.

\-----

Meanwhile after a long search Darksteel and Firestar finally discovered something. It was a visible trail left on the ground that didn't seem like a work of any of the creatures living in this area.

The bigger Predacon kneeled and ran his claws over it.

"Tires." He concluded. "They were here."

"Do you think they'll come back?" Firestar asked, glancing at the trail herself.

"I dunno. Maybe. Judging by the size, our Autobot is rather big."

"Not bigger than you though?"

"Of course not." He grinned. "They were here a while ago and drove straight to these spiky bushes. I don't know why they did that, but from there trail goes cold."

"What if they're still here?" Firestar asked. Darksteel looked around.

"I don't sense any movement."

"Well, what if they can play hide and seek really well? Remember how hard was to find Predaking during the hide and seek competition?"

"Hm. Fair point. I suppose that's an option."

"Oh! Oh! What if they can fly and are flying around to confuse us!"

"I'd really hate to burst your bubble like that, but our intruder is a grounder. Besides, the Autobots can't fly." Darksteel claimed. Firestar looked up at him and squinted in suspicion.

"Can they?"

"Last time I checked yeah, but..." He hummed, grabbing his chin. "That's actually an interesting theory."

"I think it's a trap. We should make one ourselves!"

"A trap, eh?" Darksteel smiled. "What kind of trap are we talking about?"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures!" She said, punching her open palm. "We need something that will lure the intruder into a specific spot and make them stay in it long enough to capture them in the most inescapable trap created by Cybertronian kind. I'm talking about the uh... You know, the... Mmm..."

"... You mean an Energon cube placed under a metal box propped up with a stick?-"

"Yes! The Energon cube placed under a metal box propped up with a stick kind!"

"I gotta admit, it would be pretty funny if they fell for it. But do you have anything to cage them with?"

"I don't, but I think we have some materials to work with. I believe that we can pull that off!"

"So, we're making a classic trap. Sounds like a plan to me! I'll collect some boulders from the area and we can catch them in an avalanche."

"And I'll get some vines and sticks!"

While they were discussing how to capture the uninvited guest, something started moving within the shadows. Firestar and Darksteel froze, looking around the place. Whatever was creating the sounds was fast and it was getting nearer with every second.

Darksteel transformed and took a defensive position while Firestar tugged closer to his side.

"What was that?" She asked as they started backing off, looking around and searching for the source of the movement.

"I think we won't be needing that trap after all." Darskeel said.

Without any warning, something ran out of the metal bushes and started charging at the two with a battle cry.

\-----

Predaking was circling in place, waiting for his brother to call him. Arcee was still sitting against the rock, trying to recall what had happened to her. Whatever made her lose her memories had pretty strong effects on her proccessor.

"Going deeper you'll find resources that will help you in case you'd be injured. Make sure to grab some of them on the way, you may need them later on." Predaking had lost his patience and decided to once again call Skylynx ahead, giving him another instruction. Arcee got irritated of it fast. Everytime Predaking contacted the other Predacon she ended up shaking her head and groaning. It was tiresome to constantly hear what he was talking about and she could only imagine how irritated Skylynx must have been.

"Alright, that's good. Keep following that trail, my comn link is open if you encountered any Autobots on the way." He hunged up and let out a sigh. Then, he realised that he forgot to warn Skylynx about the Energon waterfall near the area he was in and attempted to call him again.

"Don't you think that's enough?" Arcee spoke, not able to bear another call from Predaking like that.

The Predacon leader stiffened, surprised at the unexpected question. He turned around and shot Arcee a glare.

"What?"

"It's not even been an hour and you called Skylynx at least fifteen times by now. Can't you leave him alone for five minutes?"

"Why would you care?"

"I don't. I just think you should stop pressuring him and let him do things himself."

Predaking turned around and gave her an annoyed look.

"I am not pressuring him."

"Why are you bothering him so frequently then?"

"It's so I know he's still responding. I learned from the past, and I won't take any chances with the likes of you ever again."

"Scare those who serve you and control every move they take? Oh yes, such good lessons you're taking. Who taught you this, Megatron?-"

 **"Never mention that name again!"** Predaking shouted, impulsively pulling out his claws and making Arcee stop.

"First you're accusing me and my Predacons of a supposed kidpanning, then you lay a hand on one of them, and now you're comparing me to that demon?! Do not take my unwillingness to fight as an invitation to do as you please, Autobot! This kind of behaviour is not tolerated, nor will it become in any circumstances whatsoever! I am a king of this territory and I know how to take care of my people!" After he finished, he headed inside of the cave. Arcee couldn't help but grunt her denta. She looked down at her legs and then slowly moved them towards the cave's opening to observe what Predaking was doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like discussing basic hiding techniques and heated arguments, please consider leaving Kudos and Comments under my work.


	5. Chapter 5

When Predaking was inside of the cave, he felt like screaming. He hadn't been this insulted in his entire life and he used to live with Starscream! He really wanted nothing more than to be over with this as soon as possible.

Arcee followed him, peeking from afar and observing what he was doing.

"Note to self: Build an electric fence around the territory. The higher and sooner the better." He said.

He was about to open his comn link when he noticed something that made him stop. Predaking rose his servos and to his surprise, his claws were pulled out. He grimanced, staring at them for some time. When did he pull them out? There was no battle around, was it? The only opponent near him was the one outside and she was injured. Autobot or not, he'd never attack an injured foe.

After a second Predaking hid them back. He attempted to reach for his comn link again, but this time something prevented him from making a call.

That was strange. What was happening? Why did he start feeling so unsure?

The bot's words were still echoing in his mind. A loud and clear voice was telling him that he shouldn't do it and to leave his brother alone. Why? What was he doing wrong? Why was this suddenly bothering him so much?

Predaking decided to give up the call to reconsider some things. He was about to head back when suddenly his comn link came to life. He quickly picked it up.

"Hello?"

::You haven't called me in a while, is everything alright there?:: Skylynx's voice asked. He was the one to call this time.

"Yes, everything is fine." Predaking replied. "And you?"

::Still on my way, but I'm getting there. Don't worry, I can sense they're near.::

"That's excellent." Predaking couldn't help, but look down at his servo as he spoke. The bothering feeling returned. Maybe it was all just a trick to weaken his defences? Still.

"...Can I ask you a personal question, Skylynx?" Predaking asked. That Autobot had no rights to judge him, but... He just wanted to make sure that everything was fine.

::Are you sure this is the right time? Maybe we can talk about it later.::

"I'm not planning to take long. It'll only be a few seconds."

::... Well. Alright, ask away.::

"Do you... Think I'm being too controlling?"

\-----

Skylynx couldn't help, but rise an optical ridge at that.

"What do you mean?"

\-----

Predaking sighed, running his servo down his faceplates.

"Hold on, that was a silly question, let's try this again. How do you feel about me calling you so frequently?"

::Is... is that a trick question?::

"No. There are no bad answers so you can be as honest as you like."

::Okay, I suppose. I'm glad you're willing to help me in this situation. It's certainly a good thing to have someone looking out for me, but...::

"But?"

::N-neremind, that's nothing.::

"Skylynx." Predaking said, trying to sound as calm as possible. "Full honesty, remember? I can take negative criticism if you have any."

::... Promise?::

"With a hand on my spark." Predaking said, already worried what he was about to hear.

::Okay...::

\-----

"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I can count on you in case something went wrong, but.." Skylynx kneeled before an Energon lake that formed due to the nearby waterall and glanced at his worried reflection. "Sometimes it feels like you don't entirely trust me with this. You know what I'm saying?"

\-----

Predaking widened his optics in surprise. Unfortunately, Skylynx wasn't quite done yet.

::And every time you call you're giving me a crazily detailed instruction or information I'm not sure if I needed to begin with. Oftentimes it felt a lot like a lecture. At first it wasn't a problem, but then I started wondering and... Predaking, am I... disappointing you? That I haven't found Darksteel and Firestar by now?:: His voice started stuttering and sounding more nervous than before which completely horrified Predaking.

"What? No, I... I never said that..." Predaking covered his face in his hand, deeply ashamed of his actions. After a second he responded again, trying to fix the situation.

"Skylynx, I'm so sorry. I had no idea this would make you feel this way, if I knew sooner I'd never..."

The Autobot was right after all. He hated this humiliating feeling of being in the wrong, but it wasn't as great as his disappointment in himself. He should've known better than to pressure Skylynx. This was not leadership he promised him at all.

"What I'm about to tell you is going to be kept between us Predacons, alright?" He requested. He heard Skylynx make a 'mhm' sound and he looked down, optics growing softer.

"I apologise. For everything I did and said today. Me trying to comn you as often as possible wasn't caused by not trusting you or because I think you're not competent enough. It's because..." He shut down his optics, sighing deeply. "I don't trust myself."

Arcee widened her optics.

\-----

Skylynx was completely taken aback by that answer. He blinked a few times, making sure that they were indeed having this converation at the moment.

"What?"

\-----

"I've been in this position at least two times by now." Predaking leaned against the wall, thoughtfully looking at the ceiling.

"And both times I failed to protect those under my care. Predacons, both alive and deceased, this is all I've ever known. I've experienced things I don't wish anyone to experience and at the time I didn't know any better. If only I didn't trust the Decepticons, if only I didn't underestimate my opponents, maybe I'd..." He hated the way his voice started cracking up. He was letting too many emotions overlflow him, but he tried not to care.

"I can't afford to lose another family, Skylynx. All of you mean so much to me. I have never been more happier to be a part of something so wonderful, and... If something happened to you one day and I let it happen, I'd never be able to recover from that. Not this time."

Arcee couldn't stop paying attention to Predaking's words and tone. She was listening to a completely different mech than the one who spoke to her just a few moments earlier, let alone the one who Autobots once called their enemy.

"I'm not asking you for forgiveness. I gave you my word that I'll avoid turning into another tyrant and today feels like I made a step towards another failure. I tried so hard to make you safe and make sure you won't repeat the mistakes I made, that... I forgot that you don't need this much of my attention anymore."

Skylynx, as well as Arcee, got caught off guard by that. Predaking continued.

"You are a thinking, growing individual. Look at how much all of you went already through, you developed your own personalities, interests, you know what's right and wrong, and above all, you know who you are. There is no need for me to protect you as much as I used to. I know you can do it, Skylynx. I know that all of you will meet me by the end of this crazy day and we'll spend the rest of it together like we always do. And I just wanted to say that... I'll be better. It'll be hard, but I'll find a way to correct my behaviour. Because you're more important to me than my pride ever was and I want you to remember that."

::... Wow, that...:: Skylynx said, chuckling. ::I just... **Wow.** I don't even know what to say. Thank you. Really. I promise I won't let you down.::

"I know you won't." Predaking found a strenght within himself to chuckle back, smiling widely. "Now go out there and kick that old mech's aft if you have to! I'd wish you good luck, but I know you don't need it."

::Roger that! See you later.::

With a second Predaking hung up, Arcee started panicking. She quickly grabbed her legs and headed back.

Predaking needed a moment to collect himself after this conversation. He took one deep in vent and then let out a heavy ex vent.

"Alright..." He whispered, collecting his calm posture and heading outside.

Arcee was waiting for him on her spot, pretending to be interested in something different then what was in the cave. He sat next to her and she couldn't help, but glance at him a few times, making sure that he wasn't suspecting anything.

"What do you want?" Predaking suddenly asked.

"What?"

"I've seen you glancing at me. That usually means you want something."

"Well, I..." Arcee awkwardly cleared her throat. "How's Skylynx?"

"Why are you interested?"

"I'm not. I just want to know when I'll see Ultra Magnus again."

"He's on his way. He'll be here very soo-..."

Predaking suddenly noticed something. He turned to the cave's opening and spotted a trail of scratched metal leading outside. He glanced at Arcee who looked away in panic. The trail was ending right on her spot. It didn't take long for Predaking to add all pieces together.

"You were eavesdropping on us?" He said, gritting his teeth.

"No?..." Arcee lied, Predaking knew about it too. He stood up, alarming her.

"How much did you hear?!"

"Before we rush into something we'll both regret, I wanted to say that I was wrong! You are not the same as Megatron!"

"What makes you think I'm going to listen to you after this?!" Predaking asked, leaning closer.

"Because I understand what you're going through!" Arcee backed off, rising her hands in defense. "You've made a right decision. No matter how hard you'll try, you can't keep protecting your loved ones from the world. Before I didn't think this might have been the case. I understand your fear of losing them, I really do."

"What can **you** know about loss?" Predaking asked, deepening his frown.

"... A lot." Arcee admitted, looking away. This made Predaking stop.

"Not that long ago I lost two of my partners. They were the closest thing I had to a family."

Predaking had a hard time believing this.

"That's an Autobot trick, isn't it?"

Arcee just turned around to face him.

"Look me in the eye and tell me I'm lying. Do it." She said. Predaking had no response to that, so Arcee decided to continue.

"I'm no one to judge your experiences, so do me a favour and don't judge mine. I know how much it hurts to live with a thought that you could've done more, or that you could've been better, but..." She looked down, clenching her fists. "At the end of the day you let them down and you can't do anything about it."

Predaking was left with a lot of confusing feelings to process. When he sensed that he'd been staring at her for too long, he sat back down, turning to face the distance. He started coming up with an appropriate response he wasn't entirely sure of.

"... Two times?" He asked. She nodded. "I see."

"When my first partner was killed, I started isolating myself. I thought it'd be best for everyone if I just stayed away and be a lone act, but... then there was Cliff." Arcee couldn't help, but give the faintest of smiles at the memory of her second partner. "I promised that this time would be different. That this time I'd be able to do something, but... I wasn't even there to save him."

Predaking glanced at her, seeing her hanging her head.

"It hurt, and it still hurts, but at least I'm not alone this time. I don't know what future is holding for me, but at least I have friends I can count on. Being alone just made me close myself with my guilt."

Predaking's gaze softened against his will. As soon as Arcee looked up and saw it, he tried to mask it with an awkward cough.

"That... I didn't realise you were feeling the same."

"I guess we both learned something new today."

"Indeed." He paused for a second, thinking of something. Since there was someone who could relate to him, he had a chance to ask about something that'd been keeping him awake at night for some time now.

"And because of this state, you experience this... this feeling, the anger, the sorrow, the hate,... the fear, those are supposed to be felt, right?"

"Yes." Arcee answered. "Did someone make you think they weren't?"

Predaking brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. At this point his mighty posture was completely abandoned. Since she had already seen a lot, there was really not much left he could loose in this battle.

"I've been told once that I should use them to defeat my enemies. That a warrior is most effective when furious. So I've fought, I've hunted, I've hated. I've hated with all my entire spark. And it was effective at the time, but... I don't need to actively fight anyone anymore. When a warrior doesn't have any enemies, they start looking for one. Oftentimes around themselves." He shook his head. "I tried channeling my hate to focus on reviving my kind, but after Unicron it can never be possible again."

"What about Shockwave? Did he try to help you?"

"He's dead to us." Predaking frowned, but not at her this time. Another surprising news for Arcee.

"So... you don't know where he is right now by any chance?"

"Hopefully away from me and my Predacons. I made it very clear that he's not welcomed on our territory anymore."

"Did something happen?"

"Something that shouldn't concern anyone but us."

"Right." She said, leaning against the rock and trying to make herself more comfortable.

"... Are you going to report this after you're back?" He asked, glancing at her.

"I don't know." She said. "Honestly, everything today seems so surreal to me. I might be as well experiencing some massive post midnight snack Energon rush."

"This is why a proper diet is important." He said. "A big cube right before recharging and no mindight snacks. I made a chart about it."

Arcee couldn't help, but look at him, slightly confused.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because at this point I just don't care." He said, supporting his chin with his hand. "You've seen me, you've seen Skylynx, and you heard the way we talked to each other. Besides, it's not like anyone is going to believe you." Arcee gave him a small chuckle.

"Perhaps." She turned back to the horrizon. "That surely sounds like an excuse Smokescreen would come up with. Just imagine going to work late and saying: 'I woke up at a place we're forbidden to enter and my legs were paralysed, so a local Predacon leader kept an eye on me while telling me about his diet, in the meantime other Predacons were looking for my lost assignment.'"

Predaking turned his head to hide his amused huff from her. When he looked back he noticed that Arcee was grinning at him.

"So, about that chart. Do you think I can have a copy or something?"

He couldn't help, but rise an optical ridge at her.

"You want it?"

"Why not?" She shrugged. "I picked a few bad habits since the revival of Cybertron, midnight snacking being one of them. When I come back online at the morning my entire place is trashed and it's really annoying to look at."

"Why are **you** telling me this?"

"Because no one will believe you." She gave him a smug grin. This time he couldn't hide his snort. He looked down and shook his head at how quickly this situation took a different approach on itself.

"... May I ask your name again?" He asked. Arcee gave him a small glare, but it quickly melted as she decided to respond.

"It's Arcee."

"Arcee. I will give you it as soon as Ultra Magnus is found."

"Sounds good." Arcee nodded, offering Predaking a little smile.

"We're propably going to stay here for some time, so... Is it alright if I asked you a couple of questions while we're talking about shared experiences?" He asked, a bit shyly. She could tell he wasn't used to speaking about this kind of topics.

"Sure." She agreed. "Not like there's something better to do. But once our paths are split, we're not telling another soul about it. Ever."

"I shall be as silent as a grave."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like talking things out and finishing your first work in a new year (like I just did <3), please consider leaving Kudos and Comments under my work.


	6. Chapter 6

"Roger that! See you later!" Skylynx said, hanging up. He couldn't help but smile when Predaking's words returned to him, giving him all kinds of fuzzy feelings inside. It was kind of strange, but he felt like he needed to hear this. He had no idea what could've been a reason behind his brother's sudden change of heart, but he wasn't complaining. He was glad they had that talk. 

Skylynx stood up and was about return on his track when suddenly he heard muffled screams followed by a large commotion nearby. He immediately got an idea what the source of those noises might have been.

"Guys!" He shouted, transforming and rushing to the place from which the commotion was heard. He jumped out from the trees and was about to blast a fire attack when he noticed what was happening and stopped.

Dakrsteel lied on top of a large blue mech while Firestar tossed rocks at him in attempt to burrow him. The mech, who Skylynx had no trouble recognising as Ultra Magnus, wriggled and kicked under Darksteel babbling something, but the Predacon remained unaffected. In fact, he seemed a little bit amused by that.

Skylynx couldn't help, but glance at the scene with relief and confusion.

When Firestar was about to pick up another rock, she spotted her brother and waved to him with a smile.

"Hi, Skylynx!" She greeted, placing it on Ultra Magnus' back.

Skylynx transformed back, walking towards them. 

"What's going on?"

"We set up a trap and found the intruder!" Firestar replied, throwing her fists in the air. Darksteel cackled.

"I'm telling you, Sky. This guy's absolutely nuts!"

"Uh huh..." Skylynx said, looking down at the babbling mech. "Well, I suppose it's a good thing you found him. Me and Predaking got a hold on the other Autobot."

"That's great!" Firestar cheered. "So, what are we supposed to do now?"

"First, I think he's learned his lesson already. You can let him go now, Darksteel."

"Hey, you're not my boss, first of all." Darksteel started. "Second of all, you really don't want me to get up."

"Why? There's three of us, we can take care of him if he was causing trouble."

"Of course we can! But this is not for our protection, it's for his."

"W... what in the world is **that** supposed to mean?"

"Well..." After a second Darksteel moved and rose half of his body off the mech, allowing him to move. Ultra Magnus took his chance and pushed him off, rolling away from his grasp. He jumped back on his pedes and pointed at Firestar.

"You insolent little fool!" Ultra Magnus shouted in an uncharacteristically raspy voice. 

"How **dare** you throw rocks at me?! And you!" Then he turned to Skylynx, pointing his arm at him as if he was aiming with a weapon. "You're the leader of this group?!"

"Wha- No!" Skylynx said, rising his hands in defence. "I know this may seem pretty bad from your position, but we're not trying to hurt you, Ultra Magnus!"

"How many times do I have to tell you?!" He groaned, running his servo down his faceplates. "My name is **Megatron!** The supreme leader of Decepticons and future ruler of this galaxy!"

Skylynx went silent, giving him a squinting grimance.

"Told you." Darskteel said, rising from the ground and sitting down.

"Now, if we're done with the useless chatter." Ultra Magnus said, holding all Predacons at the reach of his 'canon'. "One of you better take me back to my ship and I'll burn this whole forest down!"

"Don't you mean, **or** you'll burn this whole forest down?" Firestar pointed out.

"I said what I said, Pinky!" He replied through gritted denta, pointing his free digit at her. She giggled.

"You're really funny!"

"And propably insane." Darksteel added. "Does the other bot think they're Soundwave or something?"

"No, but she's paralysed." Skylynx said, adjusting his glasses to take a good look at Ultra Magnus who was fruitlessly trying to scare Firestar. "Something really strange is going on here."

"Well, it can be going on at the other side." Darksteel said, transforming and walking to Ultra Magnus who had a staring competition with his sister. He grabbed him by the arm and tried gently pushing him away.

"Alright, 'mighty Megatron', time to go."

"How dare you!" Ultra Magnus yelled, releasing his arm and stepping back. "You're going to pay for this disrespectful manner!"

"Oh yeah?" Darksteel snorted, crossing his arms. "And what are you gonna do about it?"

Ultra Magnus growled at him and Darksteel in return gave him a glare. They were staring at each other for some time before without any warning, Ultra Magnus transformed and drove straight trough the woods to get away from the Predacons.

"Hey!" Darksteel shouted, completely caught off guard.

"Let's go!" Skylynx said, turning into his beast form and chasing after him. Darksteel groaned. He and Firestar transformed as well and began their chase.

\-----

Ultra Magnus was driving like crazy. He kept hitting metal trees, recklessly scratching and denting himself. However as damaging as it was, this proved itself to be quite a strategy because Predacons couldn't predict his movements, making it harder for them to navigate. Skylynx, Darksteel and Firestar ended up bumping their heads against trees in order to pounce on the mech. There was this one time the two brothers bumped against each other and had to stop to fight off their dizziness while Firestar ended up on the lead.

Their nightmare ended with a second they entered a different part of their territory. The Predacons had to pause and look around. Even they weren't familiar with it yet. They had found an old ruins of some ancient, partly destroyed city of unknown origin. It was located in the heart of the forest where only a small ammount of sunlight was allowed and there were large trees everywhere. 

Darksteel's optics sparkled when he saw the ruins, beak curling into a big smile. Skylynx nudged him with his wing, bringing him back to reality.

"You can explore once we're done!" He said, running after Ultra Magnus. 

"You can bet your shiny aft that I will!" Darksteel replied, following by.

When he felt like the brothers were far enough, Ultra Magnus transformed and started climbing up on one of the foundations supporting a wreck of some building. It was a rather strange sight to witness for someone as prideful as him, he looked like a clumsy bear trying to climb a tree for some honey. He managed to climb all the way to the building, landing on it's roof. Firestar had no trouble catching up, starting to circle him and making him stand in one place.

"Stop running!" She said. When she was close enough, she transformed and jumped on Magnus' back. "We just want to bring you to your friend!" 

"Megatron doesn't need any friends! J-just get off me you little pest!" He said, trying to reach her. She swiftly managed to hold onto his shoulders and hide behind them. Ultra Magnus started spinning around in order to grab her, but when he noticed that it didn't work he attempted to throw his back against the wall. 

Thankfully Skylynx and Darksteel managed to find another way on the roof and surround him. Darksteel rushed to the blue mech and pushed him away, preventing his sister from being squashed. Skylynx was waiting on the other side, trying to catch the incoming group.

Unfortunately Ultra Magnus tripped on an old rock and fell, pushing Firestar and Darksteel with himself. Together they created a roll of doom that was coming straight at Skylynx. After he noticed that, the Predacon wanted to get out of the way, but unfortunately was too close and got caught in the living avalanche as well. The group was rolling towards an opened tomb. Darksteel tried to dig his claws into the ground to stop them, but he failed and all of them fell down with a series of horrified screams. A few seconds later, a large thud could be heard inside, and another few seconds later a huge cloud of dust was puffed out to the surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to know what happens next in another episode of Indiana Predacons and the Temple of Doom, please consider leaving Kudos and Comments under my work.


	7. Chapter 7

The light from above hit Ultra Magnus' face, forcing him to narrow his optics right after opening them and turning his head to the side. As his vision cleared, he saw glimpses of a corridor leading to a place even darker than the roon he was in. After a second he shook his head, slowly pushing himself up. His vision travelled around the place and soon catched a picture of two Predacons lying next to him. Magnus couldn't help but snarl at them. He looked up and saw an opening they fell into.

Ultra Magnus quickly jumped back on his pedes and made a quick scan of his surroundings. He could barely see a thing, but he wanted to take his chances and escape. The Autobot carefully stepped away from the Predacons, looking for another exist when suddenly he stepped on a metal plate on the floor and the room lit up. Magnus jumped, but quickly calmed himself. Now he could see just how well kept the temple truly was. It was bigger and there was barely any sign of ruin at all. The only problem was the dust collected from propably millions of years of not being visited. There were paintings on the walls covered in it, but Magnus had no time nor desire for cleaning. 

Now that he was able to see, he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Magnus' plans changed however when he saw a blue chest standing in the middle of the room. It looked ancient and very important. His curiosity took over and he decided to check it out.

Darksteel groaned, slowly rising from the ground and shaking his head. He noticed that his brother was lying next to him and immediately pushed himself towards him.

"Skylynx. Hey, you're alive?" He called, gently shaking him by the arm. Skylynx managed to online back and roll towards him, placing a servo on his helm and letting out a painful moan. The two of them looked around and noticed that someone was missing

"Where's Firestar?" Skylynx asked, sitting up.

"Up here!" A voice of their sister spoke. The Predacons looked up and noticed Firestar hanging from a metal wall. When she was sure that her brothers were well, she let go and fell right into Skylynx's arms. 

"Alright, so that's all of us." Darksteel said, searching for the fourth bot. "Now the question is, where's Ultra Magnus?"

The group looked around and noticed Ultra Magnus kneeling in front of the chest and struggling to open it. After some time he managed to rip out the lock and triumphantly lift it's top. 

Inside was resting a hammer. A big, golden, very unusual looking hammer with strange writings on it's handle. Ultra Magnus felt a bit overwhealmed near it for some reason, but decided to pick it up.

"Uuuuuuuh," Darksteel rose his finger up, trying to get his attention. "I'm pretty sure it's cursed."

"What?" Skylynx looked at him, squinting. 

"We're in the ruins of some ancient city, Skylynx. This is one hundred percent a cursed object scenario." He replied, glancing back and crossing his arms.

"I'd be more worried about all possible traps it may trigger. You know, a realistic scenario."

"We literally fought a bunch of walking corpses commanded by an ancient eldrich god, what more proof do you need that magic exists?"

"Even if, how can you tell that this may be the case right now?-"

"Guys, he grabbed the hammer!" Firestar broke their argument, forcing them to look back at Magnus. 

The Autobot leader lifted the ancient hammer up with a chuckle. Suddenly the weapon started glowing, lighting up the entire room and forcing the Predacons to take a step back. Ultra Magnus started feeling some strange sensations on his frame. He looked down at his servo which grew somewhat warmer and noticed a few sparks emerging from it. Through his entire body started travelling electricity created from the weapon he lifted, gaining on it's might with every second. An ugly grin appeared on his faceplates as he clenched his servo into a fist.

Without any warning he aimed at the Predacons, releasing a powerful lightning bolt at them. They quickly jumped away, avoiding the attack which instead hit the wall behind them, completely destroying it. Ultra Magnus kept firing around, laughing like a maniac. The Predacons hid behind a rubble from the destroyed wall, getting to witness the horrific light show.

Ultra Magnus glanced at the corridor, deciding that this room was done for. He transformed and drove through it, demolishing it on his way.

"Is he trying to bury us all alive?!" Darksteel held Firestar closer to him, trying to catch his vents. "Alright, I think it's time to call Predaking." 

He was about to open his comm link when suddenly Skylynx catched his arm.

"No." He said. Confused Darksteel gave him a glare. Skylynx was looking at him with a determined look he hadn't seen before. "This is our fight."

"Skylynx, he's not hesitating. He's going to aim at us so he can kill us!"

"And?" To Darksteel's shock, Skylynx continued. "He'll try, so what? I don't know about you, but I'm not planning to be taken down so easily."

Firestar peeked from Darksteel's arms, seeing the sudden change in his brother's attitude. Suddenly Skylynx rose his fist up.

"I know it seems scary, but we can do this! Predacons don't back down easily, remember? We don't need to call Predaking everytime we face a difficulty. He believes in us and so am I!"

Darksteel and Firestar exchanged a look. Skylynx put his hand before them. 

"I'm going out there. I will fight him and I **will** defeat him, but I need you to help me. All I ask is for you to trust me."

The other Predacons were still unsure about this, but they didn't want Skylynx to be alone in this battle. After some time they put their own hands on Skylynx's, looking up and nodding.

"Let's do this." Darksteel said and was rewarded with his brother's smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like ancient weapons and character development, please consider leaving Kudos and Comments under my work.


	8. Chapter 8

Ultra Magnus was out of control. Wherever he drove a big trail of destruction was following right behind. After he reached another chamber, he transformed back and slowly stepped into it.

"Finally." He said, feeling lighning flowing through his systems. "With more weapons as powerful as this one, I'll be able to conquer Cybertron. No... The entire galaxy! They must be here. I'll find them even if I have to bring the entire place down!"

He let out another crazed laugh which was suddenly interrupted by a flying rock that hit his head. Ultra Magnus stopped and turned around to see Skylynx standing in the doorway

"Not if I can help it!" He said, bravely taking a step forward.

Magnus gave him a wide grin, pointing his hammer in his direction.

"What makes you think I'm going to let you boss me around?" He sneered. 

"A little something called 'an advantage'." Skylynx replied, returning the smirk. The mech's weapon started charging.

Skylynx adjusted his glasses, smirk growing wider. After a second Ultra Magnus released a powerful lightning bolt at him with a grunt. Skylynx jumped to the side and dodged it, then transformed and charged at the Autobot. Magnus was about to cast another attack when he felt something hitting him from behind. Ultra Magnus got distracted by it, allowing Skylynx to get closer. He finally caught up after some time and scared him off by creating an electric wall between the two of them.

"Over here, Bluebrain!" Darksteel shouted, stepping out of the shadows. He threw a big chunk of metal at Magnus which hit him in the arm. The mech shouted, grabbing it. After a second he tried shooting him.

Darkesteel shielded himself with a shield he had found on the way. It reflected Magnus' attack and sent it right back at him. It hit the ceiling and made a few rocks fall on him. Ultra Magnus destroyed some of them, allowing Skylynx to lay a hit on him. The impact was so strong the Autobot was sent flying backwards. He shook his head, trying to stand up when he felt heat under his pedes. He looked down and noticed that he was surrounded by a small fire circle. Firestar was throwing fireballs at the ground before him, making sure that he wasn't going to leave.

Ultra Magnus snarled and send a lightning at her. 

**"Star!"** Darksteel shouted, throwing his shield at her. She catched it and hid behind it just in time to protect herself. Another attack was aimed at Darksteel who managed to hide behind a pillar. 

Skylynx looked around and noticed a big vase in the corner of the room. A lightning bolt entered it, but didn't break it. It bounced off it's walls, shaking it before escaping through the same opening and hitting the ceiling. That gave him an idea.

"Darksteel!" He called, gaining his brother's attention. "I need you to look for the biggest vessel you are capable of finding in this place!"

"Now?!" Darksteel asked, throwing rubble at Ultra Magnus. 

"Now!" Skylynx nodded. Darksteel briefly looked at Ultra Magnus and had an idea what his brother was thinking about. 

"Alright, keep him occupied!" He agreed and requested. Darksteel pounced away from the wall, rolling away and barely escaping Magnus' attack. He transformed and ran out of the chamber. 

After a second Skylynx focused back on their enemy. Firestar was still throwing fireballs at him and he was slowly approaching her. The Predacon transformed and charged his fire attack. After a second he released a powerful fire ring that hit Magnus on the back. The Autobot cried out of pain, electricity dying around the damaged area just for a moment before bursting to life again. 

Firestar was given a chance to escape and she quickly rushed to her brother. Both Predacons looked at the exist and exchanged a nod. He transformed back, seeing outraged Magnus charging at them.

Skylynx and Firestar left the chamber and entered a long hallway, making Ultra Magnus chase them. 

As they ran, Firestar stepped on a couple of metal plates lying on the ground. Suddenly the metal floor before them began shaking and it opened, making the group fall into it. The Predacon caught his sister and dig his claws into the wall, preventing them from falling. Unfortunately Magnus grabbed him by the collar, forcing him to let go and continue their drop.

They fell into a big arena like pit surrounded by old rusty crates all around it. Old weapons were lying about everywhere and the Predacons were grateful that they hadn't been impaled on any of them.

"Would you look at that. A perfect place to perish." Magnus mused, standing up and charging at the two with a battle cry. Skylynx spotted a big sword near him. He pulled it from the ground and clashed it with the Autobot's hammer. Firestar didn't know what she was supposed to do so she just backed off, allowing her brother to fight. 

Ultra Magnus swung his weapon, only to had it meet with Skylynx's again. For some reason he seemed stronger than the last time they had met, forcing Predacon to slowly back off. Skylynx grunted his denta, trying to push him off himself. Ultra Magnus let out a dark chuckle, sending an electric shock down his opponent's frame. Skylynx shouted, fruitlessly trying to ignore the pain.

Firestar let out a panicked gasp. She had to do something, quick! She looked around and noticed something shiny near the metal crate. The Predacon ran over to it, recognising the thing as a big spear. Without putting much thought into it, she tried pulling it from between a pile of scrap it was dug into. From up close it was easy to notice that it was bigger than her entire body. She struggled a bit, but eventually managed to pull it from the ground. She triumphally lifted it above her head when suddenly she felt a strange feeling. The spear's tip angled forward, making her fall back with a startled squeak. 

Ultra Magnus was repeatedly electrocuting Skylynx. The Predacon tried to remain in his positon, but each time he was hit he felt himself growing weaker. After another strike his vents hissed, trying to suck in the air, starting to slowly lose his balance. 

"Such brave warrior." Ultra Magnus said, pulling back and letting him fall forward. His glasses slid out of his face, landing on the ground. The blue mech shook his head and shrughed. "It's a shame, really. But at least you can be glad that you've fought till the very end."

Magnus swung his hammer in order to strike a finishing blow when suddenly he was hit in the head with a tip of a spear. He cried out of pain, looking down.

"Leave my brother alone you big bully!" Firestar was holding a giant spear in her hands, trying to hold it and keep herself on her pedes. She clumsily swirled, blindly hitting him a few more times with it. Ultra Magnus was trying to avoid it, stepping back and clashing his hammer with the spear to get it away from him. 

Firestar's sudden attack allowed Skylynx to recover a bit. He finally catched his vents, tightening the grip on his sword.

After a second he jumped back on his pedes and rushed at the Autobot with a fierce roar. Ultra Magnus noticed him just in time, barely avoiding getting slashed. Instead he was hit in the head by Firestar again. 

The two Predacons combined their attacks, taking turns at attacking him. Ultra Magnus was forced to back off, surprised at the sudden cooperation. The two Predacon siblings finished their strategy with Skylynx spin kicking Magnus, sending him on the metal crate. The mech slid down on it, losing his electric coat.

Skylynx flipped his sword in the air, catching it with his other hand and pointing it at Ultra Magnus.

"This is over, Ultra Magnus!" He said. "You can still walk away on your own!"

"My name is Megatron." Ultra Magnus hissed, standing up. He aggresively hit the hammer against the ground, making it power up again. The hammer started making rather concerning noises as it charged up. He pointed it at the Predacons, optics filling with raw blue energy. **"And I'm never going to give up!-"**

Without any warning a giant tube fell from the above and trapped Ultra Magnus in it. Lights started flashing inside and some of the electricity was escaping from the hole on it's top.

Skylynx and Firestar heard a joyful laughter and then a figure jumped down to the pit, landing in front of them. It was Darksteel.

"Best. Exploration." He said, throwing his hands to the air. **"Ever!** This place has literally **everything!"**

After a second he looked at his brother, noticing all damage the Autobot's attacks had left.

"Whoah. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Skylynx said, picking up his glasses and placing them back on his optics. "Just a bit dizzy, surpisingly."

After a second the tube started shaking as Ultra Magnus was trying to break free. The light inside was violently flickering and the lightning was still escaping from it's top.

The three Predacons rushed to it and tried holding it down while the Autobot was using more of his power on the tube. He was screaming on the top of his vocaliser which was surprisingly a terrifying sound to experience from up close. This lasted for the next few minutes until the struggling seemed a lot easier to maintain. Soon the shaking stopped and the tube darkened.

"... Did it work?" Firestar asked. Darksteel leaned closer and put his audial on it. He heard one last gentle tap on the metal surface and then nothing. He smiled widely, turning to the rest of his siblings. 

"He's out." He said. Skylynx and Firestar never felt this much joy from taking someone out before. 

"We did it!" 

"Yes!" Firestar jumped up and down giggling triumphantly while Skylynx made a childish spin around himself. Darksteel burst into laughter, rushing to his sister and picking her up, making her squeal. He then pulled his brother closer to himself.

"Predacons: One hundred! Autobots: Zero hundred!" He cheered as they all danced around in victory, laughing.

"Ouch ouch!" Suddenly Darksteel hit a spot, making Skylynx stop. He gasped, letting go of his brother.

"Sorry." He apologised.

"It's alright." Skylynx assured, letting out a chuckle. "That was pretty extreme, but I'll live."

"You were so brave!" Firestar said, reaching towards him. Skylynx took her from Darksteel's arms and held her in front of himself, smiling. 

"I couldn't have done it without you. Without any of you. We did a good job." His sister couldn't help, but return the smile.

After some time the group calmed a bit and turned back to the tube. Skylynx placed Firestar back on the ground and they started cautiously approaching it.

"You hold him down, I'll grab the hammer." Darksteel said, cracking his knuckles.

"Do you think it can still work while he's sleeping?" Firestar wondered, joining her servos together and preparing a fireball if it was needed.

"I don't know, the best course of actions is to stay alarmed." Skylynx said. He grabbed the tube's edge, slowly lifting it up. 

"On three." He whispered. Darksteel prepared himself. "One.... two.... **three!..."**

After a second he lifted it from the ground. Darksteel was about to grab the hammer when he noticed that it wasn't anywhere to be seen. Skylynx blinked in confusion. He eyed Ultra Magnus' unconcious frame, but the weapon seemed to have disappeared. Just like that.

"I told you it was a cursed objects scenario." Darksteel said.

"Oh, shut up." Skylynx replied.

Firestar gently poked Magnus' arm, quickly backing off. He did not respond to it whatsoever.

"At least he's not going to hurt anyone, right?" She asked.

"Yeah." Darksteel said, lifting Ultra Magnus up and trowing him over his shoulder. "Let's bounce before he'll figure out that he has a gun."

"Or before Predaking will lose his mind. The Autobot he's dealing with is propably as arrogant as he is himself. They must be having a horrible time with each other's company right now." Skylynx said as they all transformed and flew to the opening to find an exit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like disappearing ancient weapons and victory dances, please consider leaving Kudos and Comments under my work.


	9. Chapter 9

"What happened next?" Predaking asked, supporting his head with his servos and trying to hide his goofy grin at the same time.

"So we all decided to check it out." Arcee spoke, gesturing dramatically. "Armed with everything we could possibly lift, slowly approaching the entrance and newsparks hiding behind us. We enter, preparing for a Scraplet colony or something worse, and it turns out it was a stray Turbofox playing with our karaoke machine!" 

They began laughing hysterically. Neither knew when they had decided to start sharing their life stories, but apparently it was a far better idea than they previously speculated.

After some time their laughter died down and they slightly calmed themselves. 

"This reminds me of the time Firestar thought there was a monster in the Darkmount. It turned out she saw Darksteel's shadow on the wall." Predaking said, making her chortle. He couldn't believe he told her about Firestar, but she didn't seem to mind that she was a Predacon. That was honestly the biggest relief.

"It's so bizarre when you think about one thing and see it as a monster, but then it turns out it's actually not that horrible, is it not?" He continued.

"Yes." Arcee agreed, smiling. "It seems to be so unfamiliar and scary, but the second you know it better things become so much clarer."

"Agreed." Predaking said. "I never quite understood this, but I think I'm slowly getting there."

"I don't blame you. Figuring things out on your own is pretty hard, especially without any guidance."

"Is it, but I think it's managable to a certain degree. But then again, the number of my good examples to learn from during this life of mine has been..." He said, looking down thoughtfully. "Questionable at best. Still, I'm trying to be better than them. Sometimes it's just hard to tell what is wrong and what is right. Do you know how that feels?"

"... Yeah." She replied, softening her gaze. "I do."

Suddenly her comm link rung. Arcee was surprised a first, but then quickly picked it up.

"Yeah, I'm here." She said, forcing Predaking to be quiet. "I'm near the cave areas. What?..." She looked up at him, pausing. He had no idea why, but cold chills ran down his spine when she did so.

"... No." She finally replied. "No one is here. Really?... That's great! Oh, that's even better! Yeah, I'll be on the look out for you. See you around."

She hung up, turning back to Predaking.

"They found Ultra Magnus." She said. Predaking couldn't help, but feel relieved that the blue mech had finally been found. Suddenly his own comm link activated and he immediately picked up.

::Guess who we found and delivered to the Autobots!:: Darskteel said, laughing. Predaking felt his spark getting eased. He let out a small relieved sigh, smiling.

::We're on our way back. Do you need any help with the other bot?::

"No." Predaking said, looking down at Arcee. "Everything is under control. I'll see you back at home."

He hung up, turning back to Arcee. After a second they both realised that this was it. Their paths were about to be split.

They fell silent for some time, avoiding each other's glances until Predaking spoke again.

"I suppose that's the end of it."

"Yes." She nodded. "That's... good."

"Very good." He agreed. "We can finally return homes and forget that this has ever happened."

"I mean, we will propably try to investigate it, but I don't think you'll be involved in any way."

"That's good..."

Another pause, this time a bit shorter than the previous one. After a second Predaking pulled out a small metal ball and gave it to Arcee.

"It's the chart I promised." He said. She looked it over and then hid it in her subspace. 

"Thank you." She thanked, then thought about something. "You know, I actually think I have something for you too."

Predaking looked down at her, giving her a surprised look.

"As an exchange." She continued, grinning. "It wouldn't be honorable of me to be given something and not have anything to offer back, now would it?"

"That... does make sense, I suppose." He said, smiling. "I'll gladly accept your offer."

\-----

Predaking managed to sneak out and not encounter any Autobots on his way. After what felt like an eternity, he finally returned to the Darkmount. Transforming, he landed on the pad and walked inside.

"King!"

"Kingkingkingking! Listen! Listen!" Darksteel and Firestar were already running to him, seeming very excited for some reason. They started fastly chattering an explanation to what had happened, but Predaking couldn't make out a single word out of it.

"Whoah, whoah, whoah." He chuckled, trying to calm them down. "I don't understand a word you're saying when you're speaking together."

"Welcome back!" Skylynx said, walking to them. Predaking froze when he noticed that his frame was covered in patches filled with healing Energon.

"King, I hit Ultra Magnus with a spear!" Firestar cheered. 

"I wasn't there to witness this, but I can confirm!" Darksteel said, chuckling.

Predaking stared at them with a mix of confusion and growing fear.

"It's a long story." Skylynx said, patting him on the back. 

\-----

"And then Skylynx was like 'This is over, Ultra Magnus!', while holding up a sword like that!" Firestar explained, holding up a metal stick and recreating the moment. "You should've seen the look on Magnus' face! And then Darksteel trapped him and he was done for! Getting out and finding the Autobots was much easier." 

"... Oh!" Predaking said. The entire story surely was a trip from start to the very end. "That's... Great?"

"I know it sounds unbelievable, but that's what happened." Skylynx said. "And neither Ultra Magnus knew what the Autobots were doing here, I'm afraid."

"That's not our problem to deal with anymore." Predaking continued. After a second he let out an ex vented, smiling. "But despite everything, you've done well today. Each one of you showed that you truly posses the courage of our ancestors and most importantly, can deal with extreme situations. Words can't describe how proud I am."

The group couldn't help, but smile back. 

"You deserve some credit too." Darksteel said, crossing his arms. "Guarding that other Autobot must've been a torture."

"Well, I..." Predaking cleared his throat."Yes, of course. It was a nightmare! I hope I'll never have to speak to her again."

"Hey, King?" 

"Yes, Firestar?"

"What is that?" Firestar asked, pointing at a piece of metal Predaking was holding. He quickly hid it behind himself, starting to look a bit nervous. 

"It's a... You know. A thing that... Is a souvenir after today's event. I decided to start a collection!..."

They couldn't help, but slighly squint at that weird answer.

Suddenly the group heard a commotion behind them. They looked around and noticed Rodimus tranforming on a landing pad. 

"Dare! Dare to belieeeeve IIIII can survive! Tu tu tu tuturuh.~" She danced her way inside, ending her little spectale with a knee slide across the floor. **"I've got the future in my haaaaaaaaaaand!~"**

"Rodimus!" Skylynx cheered, feeling huge relief washing over him. Predaking glanced at him and he quickly calmed himself, nervously looking in another direction. Rodimus stood up and energetically bounced towards the Predacons. 

"Hi guys, you wouldn't believe what crazy day I had!" After a second she glanced over at Skylynx, slightly widening her optics.

"I think we can relate." Darksteel grinned.

"Splendid!" Predaking cheered, pushing his siblings towards Rodimus. "Why don't you share your stories with each other? I'm sure you have a lot to talk about!"

"You're not staying?" Firestar asked, a little bit disappointed. 

"I would love to, but... I desperately need to clean my room!" Predaking explained, heading towards his quarters. "I'll make sure to catch up once I finish, but for now have to be away! It has been a good talk!"

When he disappeared behind the corner, the group heard his footsteps getting quicker, giving away that he began running.

"What happened to him?" Rodimus asked, rising an optical ridge.

"Your guess is as good as ours." Darksteel said, then turned to her with a big smile. "So, how was your quest?"

"Why, I'm so glad you asked, my dear Darksteel." Rodimus chuckled, giving him the camera. "The challenge was obliterated!"

"Really?" Firestar asked.

"Really!" She cackled. "And he never saw me coming! Literally!"

"I suppose it was a revolutionary day for all of us." Skylynx chuckled, making Rodimus give him a disbelieving stare.

"Did you just...?" She asked, pointing her claw at him. "Now I really need to hear what happened, I fear Skylynx might be possesed."

"Not any more than Ultra Magnus I bet!" Darksteel laughed. Rodimus narrowed her optics in confusion.

\-----

After locking the door of his room, Predaking could finally feel at ease and relax. He looked at the piece of metal in his servo, reading scribbles carved on it. Then, he glanced around his place, confirming that he was alone.

Predaking headed to the desk near his berth and opened his personal diary which was lying on it. He put the piece of metal on the other side and started writing it down, word by word.

It was an access to a comm link. 

He didn't want anyone to know that he not only made peace with an Autobot, but also decided to keep in touch with her. He had barely began unlearning to feel ashamed of the fact that they had things in common, let alone actually admitting it to others. He simply needed more time.

Predaking started wondering how to name the file. It had to be something that wouldn't give away what it was. Something misleading. He thought for a moment and then started typing again.

Predaking decided to name it 'Emergency Only' and leave it at that. Hopefully this secret of his would remain as such for as long as his pride would allow it. 

His or, well, hers, he supposed.

\-----

"One more time, one more time, one more time!" Darksteel chanted. Rodimus replayed the video and a huge wave of paint covered Wheeljack and Smokescreen for the hundredth time, making the Predacons laugh again. 

"Oh, I wish I've been there!" Darksteel said.

"Trust me, you wouldn't." Rodimus let out a nervous chuckle. "I gotta admit, you guys were right. It was pretty hard to get Wheeljack pranked. **But** in the end everything turned out fine, I got superpowers, and I can officialy call myself the high lord of pranks!" She said, pillowing her head in her arms and leaning against Predaking's throne with a smirk. 

"Are you going to tell Predaking about the whole thing?" Firestar asked, leaning her head on the throne's handle. 

"About the powers? Yeah, I'll do that tomorrow. About the rest? Uh, no. I don't think that's a good idea, especially since there were no witnesses so there's no need to make him anxious about it. I told you guys I could deal with it!" She said, refering mostly to Skylynx who caught her staring at him as she spoke. 

"But enough about me, what did you guys do with the lighning hammer after defeating Magnus?"

The group exchanged a look, making Rodimus curious.

"After he was defeated, the weapon was..." Skylynx started.

"Poof!" Firestar expressed, spreading her arms wide. "Not even a trail was left after it."

"We're still trying to figure out what happened to it, but I don't suppose we'll figure it out anytime soon."

\-----

Ultra Magnus' condition seemed to had somewhat worsened. After like an hour of waiting in Ratchet's clinic, he started complaining about a strange spark ache that started bothering him out of the sudden. When Arcee was free to go home, he stayed and had to go through a few tests before getting released. No one was really happy about it.

"Do you need anything, sir?" Smokescreen asked, sitting next to Ultra Magnus' berth on which the mech was curled up in pain. "An Energon cube? A warming sheet? Maybe some datapads to pass the time?"

"Smokescreen, I need to ask you to stop bothering my patient." Ratchet said, walking to them with a scanner in his servo. 

"Hey, I'm just trying to help." Smokescreen defended himself, hearing that Ultra Magnus started moaning. He switched his position and lied his back against the berth's surface, grunting his denta.

"It's alright, commander." Ratchet walked up to him and put a cold piece of metal on his head. "It's a normal reaction to the medicine I gave you for your spark pain. A minute or two and it should stop hurting-!"

Without any warning, Ultra Magnus' spark chamber released a powerful lighning ball which materialised into a golden hammer. The weapon fell between Magnus' legs with a loud thud, making Ratchet and Smokescreen step back and Magnus to jerk away.

 **"What did you give him?!"** Smokescreen shouted, looking up at Ratchet who, not any less than Magnus himself, seemed to be in a state of shock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like secrets and crazy stories, please consider leaving Kudos and Comments under my work.

**Author's Note:**

> If you like healthy diet and don't like getting up early, please consider leaving Kudos and Comments under my work.


End file.
